The Will of The Damned: Falling Into Hell
by Teresa Martin
Summary: I think the title says it all.
1. Default Chapter

FALLING INTO HELL  
  
"Hey Ami!" Anakin yelled out to his wife.   
  
"What?" Amidala shouted from the fresher.  
  
"Did you know that when you were Queen, we were supposed to be calling you 'Your Majesty,' not 'Your Highness?'"  
  
"No. Where'd you hear that?" Amidala came out of the fresher, walked to the kitchen and got some stim-tea.  
  
"The holo-news. They are doing a brief biography of you. And now they're-hey! If you come here quickly you'll hear them speculating as to exactly what we're doing, moment by moment, until I leave with the squadron."  
  
She came up beside him, her arms around his neck, placing a kiss on his cheek.  
  
"Are they right?"  
  
"Well, no-- give me some of that," he grabbed the cup from her, took a sip, and handed it back.  
  
"Uggh," she complained, "Skywalker cooties!"  
  
"Very funny."  
  
As Amidala cuddled around her husband, he sighed with contentment. Since his return from Naboo, it had almost been like a second honeymoon. His brief indifference to her had left very quickly. She had a hold on him that he couldn't resist.   
  
She sighed, but not out of happiness.  
  
"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.  
  
"Nothing. I just want to make sure that we can make the most of these moments."  
  
He was turning earnest too. "Yes. But then, things haven't been too pleasant here," Anakin referred to his censor by the Council.  
  
Amidala was silent. Even though she had supported Obi-Wan and Anakin's renegade ways-patterned after Qui-Gon Jinn--she still felt some attachment to the Jedi Order. An attachment that Anakin seemed to have lost completely. Lost with his master.  
  
"Let's not speak of it," Anakin replied, employing his tactic of avoidance when it came to painful subjects. "I have something for you."  
  
"What?" she stood up grinning, wondering what it could be.  
  
He led her into their bedroom, and standing there was a shining protocol droid.  
  
Amidala's jaw dropped.  
  
Anakin explained, "It's C3-P0."  
  
"C3-P0? The one you built when you were a child?"  
  
"I didn't tell you that Obi-Wan and I returned to Tatoinne a few years back. We found 3PO working for the Hutts. I bought him, but I didn't want to use him. It reminds me of-"  
  
"I know." Amidala's voice broke a little.  
  
"Well," Anakin shrugged, "all you have to do is turn him on."  
  
"You won't?"  
  
"Not till I'm gone," he answered softly.  
  
Amidala looked down and tentatively brought up the subject that had been forbidden between them.  
  
"Anakin, I could go with you and fight. I have be-"  
  
"No!" Anakin sharply cut her off. "I won't have you wounded, or worse."  
  
"All right." Amidala knew better than to argue with him about such matters. He could turn almost vicious, and she knew why.  
  
It hurt too much.   
  
  
  
  
Amidala woke up. It was well into the middle of the night. She sat up in bed and looked for her husband. He was out on the balcony and melancholy.  
  
She touched his hand, "What is it, Ani?"  
  
He shivered. "I . . ."   
  
*No, I won't speak of it*   
  
"Let's just go back to bed."   
  
"Ani . . . " Amidala began but he wouldn't let her continue. He swept her up and carried her inside where she was overwhelmed by the level of her husband's emotions.  
  
  
  
They awoke before dawn to a battle. On Coruscant? They jumped up. Bombs were roaring around them. It was like a nightmare. Anakin pushed Amidala to the floor. "Like that will help if the Temple is bombed!" She shouted, crouched underneath him.  
  
"No, we won't be bombed. I can feel it." He got up and began dressing as he spoke, "The Mandolorians are leaving the Jedi alone. But my men must go. Fight them off." He was dressed by now and fiercely embraced his wife, kissing her.  
  
"I love you, Ami. I will forever."   
  
And he was gone.  
  
  
ONE MONTH LATER  
  
Anakin and Bail led the defenses in the fiercest fighting they had ever experienced. The devastation was unprecedented, whole civilizations were being wiped out. This war could not go on, it couldn't. Anakin began to believe that he only was to victory was annihilation of the enemy. It had to be. With each battle Anakin felt the need to stop the chaos grow. He would do whatever was needed to accomplish that goal.  
  
Because of this, he refused to contact the Jedi Council. He knew what they would say about his tactics.  
  
Moreover, the Jedi were increasingly unpopular. Since the Temple was unharmed during the strikes against Coruscant, many people began to resent them. To protect the Jedi, Palpatine declared they would stay inside the Temple, or were they to leave they must no longer wear their Jedi Robes.   
  
For their protection  
  
TWO MONTHS LATER  
  
Anakin was astonished.  
  
"It's called a Star Destroyer," Anabelle Jade said from beside him. They were on a shuttle, about to board the Republic's newest weapon. Anabelle had been his ally in the second Battle of Naboo. She was pregnant with her daughter Mara, yet this did not diminish her fiery beauty.  
  
Bu Anakin did not see the desirability of this widowed Jedi. He was transfixed by what was before him.   
  
*This is where Chancellor Palpatine wants me to serve*  
  
Anabelle broke into his reverie, "I'm sorry that we couldn't have told you more, but this is very top secret." Anakin nodded silently. He barely heard her, so captivated was he.  
  
As they exited the shuttle in the hangar, there was a group of officers greeting him. They addressed him as Captain. It felt odd-as though he was far too young for such a title. But he was the best.  
  
The confident Anabelle Jade strode next to the tall captain. Still active with Palpatine's intelligence force, she was on the Star Destroyer for a strategy briefing . . . and for a more covert mission.  
  
  
ONE DAY LATER  
  
The said meeting seemed to go on forever. The Fleet was trying to secure the Core Worlds. The Destroyer would fortify a route from Alderaan to Corellia. And when the time came, they'd drive the Mandolorians from the Mid-Rim.  
  
"And how will we be certain when we may strike?" Bail wanted to know.  
  
"Chancellor Palpatine has. means of knowing when the time will be right," Anabelle replied.  
  
Anakin nodded. He noticed a few other men in the briefing, Grand Moff Tarkin, no longer a general, one of the first to hold the new title that Palpatine created. It kept order in the various territories. And an Ensign near his age, Piett. Anakin sensed something about him; he'd need to keep his eye on the ensign. Piett would be of use to him later.  
He felt it.  
  
The briefing broke up, and Bail was going back to the Base on Corellia. Anakin was left with his command, his ship.   
  
  
  
  
Anakin's quarters were spacious, richly furnished. Fit for a man of his stature. He felt a pride, a pleasure,   
  
*Remember this feeling, Ani* he told himself as he began unpacking. He was no longer wearing anything that resembled Jedi robes.   
The Jedi. . . He did not regret having rejected them. *Rejected the Council, not the Jedi* he told himself. There was a difference, wasn't there?  
  
He remembered Obi-Wan who had always led him in pushing the envelop of what the Code permitted, and occasionally going beyond it.   
  
"It can be justified using a certain point of view," Obi-Wan always replied when the two disobeyed a direct order of the council or chose to ignore the Code they felt it interfered with what they need to do.  
  
"Always do what you must, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan told him whenever Anakin expressed doubts.   
  
*I am doing what I must, Master. *  
Doing it for the good of the galaxy  
  
Before he could add to those thoughts he was reminded that something was missing. He went to unpack it, the holo of his wife, Amidala. For a moment he missed her, but a summons by ensign Piett interrupted his thoughts.  
  
Anakin Skywalker had work to do.  
  
  



	2. Part II

ONE WEEK LATER  
  
Annabelle remained on the ship, continuing to monitor the situation for Chancellor Palpatine. At the end of the next circuit she would be dropped off at Coruscant.  
  
Anakin looked on her as his ally in his new vision of the Jedi Order. They often met over stim-tea to discuss their plans. Annabelle was always there to point him to reason when Anakin felt something akin to doubt.  
  
"Stay strong," she counseled him daily.  
  
"I'm worried," Anakin replied and stopped in horror. He really felt anxiety, something he had never really felt before.   
  
"Take heart, Anakin. I feel anxiety too. But remember we are close to finding out who's been arming the Mandolorians. Once that is clear, we can put an end to the Clone Wars."  
  
Anakin nodded. "Which is why Chancellor Palpatine has made it a top priority, and sent you here to the front lines."   
  
"Yes, and then we continue with our reformation of the Jedi Order." Annabelle finished her drink and stated, "We won't accomplish anything more this evening. I'm going to do some meditation exercises. Care to join me?"  
  
  
ONE WEEK LATER  
  
  
Anakin meditated often with Annabelle after that. When he did, there was an energy that fed and received.  
  
He knew the name to give it: the Dark Side of the Force. Annabelle confirmed this suspicion, but convinced him that this label was only a legacy of archaic times. The Jedi were too intolerant to recognize this channel of being in touch with the Force. They felt it threatened their power, so they labeled it evil.  
  
At first Anakin was skeptical of this, but the more he spoke with Annabelle, and practiced the meditation with her, the more convinced he was that she was right. Why, he hadn't felt this good in years, after he touched that raw power. It was almost carnal.  
  
Anabelle Jade was four months along in her pregnancy. Anakin had been aware of the child within her.  
  
"She's strong in the Force."  
  
"I know. Isn't it lovely to have such a connection with your child?"  
  
Annabelle hid her smirk as she thought of what this might remind Anakin.  
  
Anakin nodded, "Yes, I know. I could sense my daughter from the moment she was conceived."   
  
"Really? I didn't with Mara."  
  
"But you had already been trying different methods by then," Anakin answered.  
  
"You're right," Annabelle bowed her head in thought, her red-gold hair rippling in the dim light. "Fascinating that the Enlightened Side finds it difficult to connect with young life."  
  
"Enlightened?" Anakin's brow puckered in confusion.  
  
"Yes. The Dark side is a negative label, given by the Jedi Order."  
  
"Enlightened?" Anakin repeated skeptically. "It sounds kind of dumb."  
  
"But appropriate."  
  
Anakin's head was reeling. So many thoughts. He was confused so much lately. Unlike his discernment before.  
  
Annabelle sensed his thoughts and explained, "It was easy to discern because the Jedi Ways are simple. Ours are more complex and intelligent. That's why it's hard to understand sometimes. That's why it's confusing."  
  
Before Anakin could answer, they were interrupted by a surprise attack.  
  
  
  
With the raw power they tapped into, they defeated in a bloody manner all of the, calling upon all powers they had learned, ones they often had given names to themselves in their meditations. There was a bond forming. And together they nearly single-handedly obliterated a legion of Mandolorians.  
  
Chancellor Palpatine congratulated them over the hologram. "You too are definitely a team. Unbeatable."  
  
"Thank you, Chancellor," Anakin replied. It felt good to be complimented by him. Never before had Anakin sought Palpatine's approval but now, for a reason Anakin could not explain, it was imperative.  
  
  
  
Anakin entered Annabelle's quarters. She was by the large view of stars. Drinking Alderaanian ale.  
  
"Is that good for Mara?" Anakin asked,  
  
"A cup or two won't hurt her." Annabelle smiled, her gleaming teeth and green eyes almost glowing.  
  
He commented, "You look happy."  
  
"It's that euphoria after the battle. You feel it too." It was a statement not a question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Annabelle patted her stomach, "Mara likes it as well, I've allowed her to feel it."  
  
"I know." Anakin spoke quietly.  
  
"You've felt her?"  
  
"Yes. I sense that she will be very important in our future-but I feel in a manner that I cannot imagine."  
  
"I've foreseen it as well." Annabelle smiled again. "Would you like to sense her?"  
  
"If I may?"  
  
As Anakin stretched out with the Force, the power overwhelmed him. It was euphoric, powerful. It built. Yes, the Enlightened Side was powerful, far better than the Jedi's childish tricks.   
  
The emotion, the energy flowed through him. He took it all.   
  
"Yes. She will be powerful." Anakin stated. "As are you."   
  
He beheld Annabelle's face and some connection wouldn't leave, some vacuum.   
  
"Of course. She's force-sensitive," Annabelle replied.  
  
*And I'm a married man* Anakin thought.   
  
Why did that thought come? A moment later Anakin knew why when that vacuum didn't close. And he couldn't make it stop.  
  
  
  
Anakin wanted to die. He felt it was a dream. It had to be. A blaster to the gut would have been easier to handle. But this . . . this injury he had done of his free will.  
  
"Well of course you're frazzled," Annabelle said from beside him, reading his thoughts. "That was your first time with a Jedi, wasn't it? A little different, yes?" She curled seductively around him, "A little better?"  
  
Anakin sat up mumbling about the need to shower.  
  
He went into the fresher and felt ill.   
  
Adultery.  
  
It was hard to face. Yet he was tempted to go back out for more. It was powerful, that taking. It was 'better' as Annabelle said, than with Amidala. With his wife it was passionate, but always something more mutual, more equal, a giving. There was not that raw power and domination.   
  
He walked back into the room.  
  
Annabelle was muttering about "Consenting adults. Moment of passion. Natural no big deal."  
  
He listened to Annabelle and hated her.  
  
He hated her because he wanted her.   
  
But most importantly hated her because he knew that he'd never see Amidala in the same way again.  
  
  
  
----  
  
Anakin couldn't resist. He returned to Annabelle several more evenings. He hated it, but being with her was a drug. It was so powerful, so much taking from her.  
  
He was also improving in other matters. He was winning the war.  
  
Only occasionally, sometimes as he saw the light streaking through his windows in hyperspace did he start in shock when he felt fear and horror. Was this really what Anakin Skywalker was all about? Was he really an adulterer, a rebel against the Jedi Order he had once loved. Was he really killing his enemies en masse with no regret?   
  
  
But he quickly erased it, for Anakin Skywalker no longer felt fear, it went with pain. And as for his wife. , .,  
  
Annabelle helped him by teaching him a technique to cloak any signs of their relationship from Amidala when they spoke.   
  
When he was away from her, ss long as he did not think of Amidala, all was fine. He did his best to stop it from happening.  
  
Besides, once the war was over, he'd go back to her. This dalliance was an interlude. A diversion of war, a stepping stone to the new order. By always following the Jedi's outdated restrictions of no sex outside marriage, he had shut out a powerful part of himself-- a self that Anabelle showed him more and more every night.  
  
He told himself this so many times that he really began to believe it.  
  
  



End file.
